Reverberations -- Book 3
by ReiKeiko
Summary: After creating the multi-village shinobi academy, Keiko falls ill with an unknown virus. Suspicions that Orochimaru is to blame begin to circulate. She turns violent before nearly tearing the villages apart. It's a race against the clock before their world is destroyed.
1. Chapter 1 - A demon cold?

**Resonance: Book 1**

 **Reverberations: Book 2**

Please also visit me at stormygate . deviantart . com if you like the art ^.^

 **Chapter 1: A demon cold?**

More than a year went by and Keiko began feeling irritable. She didn't know why, but unfortunately it was something that did tend to happen occasionally among her kind she supposed. One morning, she woke up and felt like her head was going to explode. She rolled over on the bed and covered her face. Gaara had already been up doing his Tai Chi. It was unusual for her to still be in bed. He came in and pulled the covers off of her.

"Hmm? Are you sick?"

"Yokai don't get sick," she mumbled sleepily. Gaara felt her forehead. It was warm.

"Well you sure feel like you might be sick. Maybe you should rest today."

"No, I need to get to the academy," she muttered as she rolled over.

It had been two years since she thought Kakashi had died. They were once to be married until his untimely death facing Itachi. At the wishes of the village councils, Keiko and Gaara had been matched. She didn't intend for it to be anything other than duty, but she fell in love with him all the same, and he with her. About a year after Kakashi's death, Keiko was in the hospital recovering after they had defeated Itachi. Itachi's last great act was to seal away part of what remained of Orochimaru's soul. Unexpectedly, Kakashi strolled into the hospital having himself woken from a near year long coma. Keiko had been devastated. She went home with her husband, but battling the conflict within her was a constant. She busied herself teaching at the academy and coming home to spend evenings with Gaara.

They all had accepted that the circumstances were unusual, but that didn't make it much easier for any of them. On top of it, Keiko was a Inu-Yokai and the idea of love and caring for one human over another was relatively new to her. While in more than 200 years of war she had typically commanded herself with confidence, now that she was exploring what it meant to love she felt incompetent. She didn't know what to do with these feelings for the first two men to really care about her.

Part of the peace they had established among the villages under the guidance of the Allied Shinobi Forces was a graduate academy where all the villages could come to learn together. Keiko was one of those in charge of cross training between different fighting styles. There was much she still had to learn herself, but she was fairly good at bending the elements with just her chakra and not even using ninjutsu.

The academy was waiting for her, she thought. Keiko shuffled to the closet and got dressed. When she made it to breakfast in the long dining hall, she started nodding off again.

"I've never seen you like this. I really think you should stay home today," Gaara said. "I'll send a hawk to the academy and let them know."

"No," she grumbled, "I'm fine." She stood up and she swooned, stumbling into the chair. Gaara grabbed onto her.

"Fine, if you're not going to behave and do as I ask, then you're going to rest on the couch in my office," he said.

He carried her up to his office. She fell back asleep halfway there, so he put her on the couch and covered her before going up the stairs to send the message. When he reached the top of the stairs another hawk was returning from the Hidden Leaf Village. He made for the window to retrieve it and stroked the hawk absently as he read the message. Great, that's just what he needed today. He sent the other message off before sighing and making his way back to his office to go through paperwork.

A couple hours later, an expected knock came at the door. He hadn't even noticed how much time had gone by. "Please come in," answered Gaara.

Kakashi opened the door and stepped through wearing the formal robe of the Hokage, though he had the headpiece draped across his back. He still donned the mask that partially obscured his face even in his formal attire. "Thank you for seeing me Kazekage-sama."

"Please. There's no need to be so formal. Gaara is fine."

"Ah," said Kakashi distractedly, noticing Keiko on the couch.

"I think she has a cold," Gaara explained. "She woke up not feeling well and thought she was going to go teach, so I brought her with me."

"Really?" said Kakashi interestedly. "I've never seen her sick before. She refuses to even go to the hospital unless someone makes her."

"I know," Gaara grumbled.

Kakashi approached her carefully under Gaara's watchful eye. "Are you sure it's just a cold? She's not looking so well. Did you see this veining pattern on her face? It's almost like she's been…poisoned or something." Kakshi pulled the blanket away from her face and looked her over.

"She couldn't have been. She's been only between home and the academy for months."

"What about the 'between' part?" Kakashi asked.

Keiko's breath was becoming raspy and Gaara's eyes flashed with concern. Before he could even come over to take a look at her, another knock came at the door. Baki stepped in hurriedly without waiting for a response. "I'm so sorry to bother you, sirs. There's been an attack…a snake attack."

Gaara's eyes went wide and he flicked his eyes between Keiko and Kakashi, understanding washing over him.

"I wasn't sure, but I suspected that either he or Kabuto may be up to something. We've been getting strange reports," said Kakashi. "People have been disappearing again."

"Damn. I suspected Orochimaru was not completely gone, but I hoped... I…I have to deal with this. I really hate to ask this of you, but could you please take Keiko to the hospital…just to be sure?" asked Gaara.

"Of course," Kakashi replied.

"And Kakashi?" Gaara paused as Kakashi looked back at Keiko, "I trust you to act with integrity." With that, Gaara followed Baki to the scene of the disturbance.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Awkward Kage Meeting

**Chapter 2: The awkward Kage meeting**

Kakashi lifted Keiko in his arms and made his way towards the hospital. She gripped his shirt absently with her hand. He carried her in silence trying not to wake her. She could hear his heart beat by her ear and smell his scent on his clothes, rousing her from her state of half consciousness. She looked up at him through liquid eyes.

"A dream?" she asked softly.

"Afraid not. We're just going to the hospital to get you checked out," he grinned reassuringly.

Keiko continued to stare at him. He could practically hear her brain working something out in her clouded state.

"So, what's on your mind?" he asked casually.

"Selfish things," she whispered.

He smiled sadly before replying, "Mine too. I promised Gaara I would behave with integrity so I plan to keep them to myself."

"Well, we can't have everything in life," she said quietly.

"I would let you have everything," Kakashi thought to himself.

He continued to carry her in silence until they reached the front entrance to the hospital. A healer gestured to a bed and Kakashi lay her down. He told the nurse his concerns and she nodded seriously. Turning to Keiko, she asked, "Have you experienced anything unusual when traveling Keiko-sama? Any foreign substances or bodies? Any injuries?"

"I got bitten by a bug or something on my way home a couple weeks ago, but nothing happened so I forgot about it," Keiko replied.

"Can you show me where?"

Keiko slid the Yukata down her shoulder, away from her neck. Kakashi gulped as he watched her expose one of his most favorite places on her body. But instead of the soft skin he was used to, there was a bruise with more of the same veining that started spreading across her face. It was darker and more concentrated here.

"It almost looks like blood poisoning, but different somehow." She touched Keiko with a gloved hand, "does it hurt if I touch here at all?" Keiko shook her head slowly. "I see," the healer continued, I'm going to take some blood samples. We have some of her previous labs to compare to. This is going to be a bit tricky because her DNA isn't exactly like ours," the healer explained.

"Please, do your best," Kakashi smiled at her.

The healer giggled before regaining her composure so she could draw Keiko's labs. She smiled again at Kakashi before leaving the room.

"Here all of five minutes and already picking up women," Keiko groaned between labored breathing.

"Oh, come on, that's not fair. You know I never flirted with other women while I was with you," he said.

Keiko's jaw stiffened and she turned her face away, saying nothing.

"I probably didn't do you any favors volunteering to bring you here," sighed Kakashi.

"It's not your fault. I'm the one who loses control when you touch me. I told you, I never deserved either of you," she rasped.

"Shh, try not to talk. Just…I'll stay with you, ok?" he said taking her hand gently.

He heard voices and footsteps drawing closer. He pulled his hand away when he heard the door slide open. Gaara entered along with the healer.

"I'm not exactly sure what to make of it, except it looks like some kind of virus that's been synthesized."

"Synthesized?" asked Gaara.

"Like…perhaps someone engineered this on purpose. I've never seen anything like it," she replied. "We've tested ourselves and it doesn't appear to be spreading. For now, we believe it's confined to her cellular structure."

"So what can we expect?" asked Kakashi.

"I don't really know. Some of my team are already working on synthesizing a vaccine for it, but we don't even really know what it is. It's hard to separate out since her biology is somewhat different. Viruses mutate and we don't even know what the strain looked like to begin with. We'll continue to monitor her labs, but all we can do is make her comfortable at the moment." The healer set Keiko up with IV fluids and an antiviral before leaving the room.

"I want to make sure she's ok…but it's probably best for both of you if I go. I didn't mean to cause any damage," Kakashi said to Gaara.

"Damage?"

"She seemed kind of upset when she saw me," he said rubbing the back of his head absently. "Would you be able to lend me a place to stay? We need to discuss this business with Orochimaru, but I'm sure you want to be here right now."

"Of course. Anything you need, the palace staff will help you. Let me know if you need anything else."

Kakashi grinned his fake smile before leaving the room.

"Every time that guy comes around, it's been drama. I don't know if I can do it again," thought Gaara.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Demon Dog Appears

**Chapter 3: The Demon Dog Appears**

Hours went by with no improvement. The healers continued working around the clock. One would come periodically to change the IV and place a clean towel across her forehead to cool her off. She was starting to sweat as her temperature rose. The poison continued spreading slowly across her body. The most disturbing part was that her demonic features began to sharpen as it did so. Gaara had an unsettling feeling that was part of the virus purpose.

At some point the next day, Gaara had to leave her as much as he didn't want to. He went back up to his office and met with Kakashi. Gaara paced impatiently which was something he didn't typically do. Kakashi watched him, equally unnerved.

"I have a suspicion after watching this progress that Orochimaru's goal might be to force Keiko's Yokai form to appear. It could just be a coincidence of the illness. I know that sometimes it comes out when she's under duress," Gaara said.

"It's definitely a possibility. I don't really know what Orochimaru plans to do with that though. I thought he wanted her to create his next vessel?" Kakashi mused.

Gaara nodded. "She mentioned something about Kabuto taking her and Sasuke's DNA. We raided the facility after she recovered from confronting Itachi and came up with nothing. Perhaps it's some sort of test?"

"We definitely can't rule that out," Kakashi said.

Two ANBU operatives appeared in the open doorway. "Kazekage-sama," one said through a masked face, "there's trouble at the hospital. Keiko-sama, she's…out of control."

Gaara and Kakashi looked at each other wide eyed and took off toward the hospital, the operatives falling in step with them.

Windows shattered as they heard a roaring howl. Supplies flew through the broken windows and they heard people scream. A large white dog the size of a house slammed through the concrete wall. It snarled and brow furrowed over blood red eyes. It was foaming at the mouth. Townspeople ran down the street shouting. More of the ANBU joined Gaara and Kakashi. "What do you want us to do with her sir?" the captain asked.

In response, Gaara released sand from his gourd and it swirled into the sky, surrounding the giant dog. The dog snapped at it furiously. Wind vibrated around her, trying to keep the sand at bay.

"I didn't even know she could use wind," Kakashi said. He had thought those capabilities were limited to her sword, Zenmai.

"Well, she can fly," Gaara replied absently through his concentration.

The sand pressed in hard around her, trying to overtake her chakra flow. For a while, it seemed like Gaara was winning. The sand completely surrounded her and hardened into a shell. He wasn't sure what he could do after that, but at least if he kept her contained, they could prevent any further damage and try to figure out how to subdue her. For a few minutes it seemed like it was going to work. Gaara turned to the operatives to give them further instructions before they heard the cracking. They all turned around and watched as the fissure spread across the surface of the trap and pieces began falling inward. The dog burst from inside the sand prison and roared again before taking off into the air. Shingles flew from the roof of the hospital and crashed to the ground below from the force. They all watched frozen as he rose higher over the village. Kakashi and Gaara realized at almost the same time that she was heading in the direction of the Village Hidden in the Leaf.

"Damnit. We don't even know what she thinks her objective is," Gaara cursed.

"Or if she's even aware of what she's doing," said Kakashi darkly.

At this point, most of the guard had come out of the woodwork and Gaara started assigning them tasks to secure the village. After he was sure that the townspeople would be taken care of, he and Kakashi and took off after Keiko.


	4. Chapter 4 - Battle of Elements

**Chapter 4: Battle of Elements**

Back in the Village Hidden in the Leaf, Naruto was training with Yamato on mixing elements outside of town in a large clearing.

"That's really good Naruto, but you need to work on focusing your Chakra more," said Yamato.

"Captain Yamato…what is that?" asked Naruto pointing to something growing in the distance.

Yamato looked after where Naruto was pointing and narrowed his eyes as it came closer. "Nothing good. Stay behind me Naruto," he said. Yamato raised a large ridge from the earth and began building a barrier around that section of the town. It certainly wouldn't keep the thing from flying over the town, but if he could ground it, the barrier might slow its progress.

Kakashi felt like he had never run so fast in his life. He knew Keiko could move pretty quick, but he still was always faster than her on the few occasions they had been able to train together. Gaara seemed to notice as well. They barely managed to reach the village ahead of her when they ran into Yamato standing on top of his barrier wall.

"Kakashi-sama, I'm glad you're here. I may need your help to ground this thing," Yamato shouted to him.

"That thing is my wife," Gaara growled.

"K…Keiko-sama?" asked Yamato bewildered.

Kakashi gathered lightning. He hated to use this kind of move on her, but he wasn't sure how much it was going to take in order to take her down. He didn't know if he could capture her in his new Mangekyō Sharingan without her being in humanoid form. Kakashi channeled several bolts of lightning at her which she dodged easily. Damn, when did she get this fast?

Yamato used water style to summon rain and Kakashi used it to channel lighting around Keiko, much as Keiko had done to Itachi a year ago. This time, she could not escape it as Kakashi cast lightning through the torrent. The large dog fell from the sky and Gaara caught her gently in the sand. Before he was able to trap her, she transformed back to her humanoid form. Her eyes and her fangs didn't change. Still bloodthirsty and enraged, she got up and summoned her sword Zenmai and it in turn summoned thousands of razor sharp leaves swirling around her in the air. Once again, the wind spun tightly around her, repelling the sand that crashed towards her.

The earth around them began to crack and shake. It shifted up and down keeping the ground from being still in one spot for more than a few seconds. Keiko reached out a clawed finger and pointed at the water from the rain. It froze over the leaves making them that much more deadly. With a flick of her finger the leaves sped towards the group.

"gods," whispered Kakashi.

"Naruto," Yamato said without turning, "Please go get help."

Naruto had been frozen, not sure what to do. Nee-san. "R…right," he stuttered before scrambling towards the village.

Yamato's hand glowed. He knew it that what he was about to try was an impossibility, but he had to try something.

"I know what you're thinking," Kakasi said as he reached out his hand to still him, "that kind of seal isn't going to work on her. Don't take the risk."

The frozen leaves barreled towards the remaining three as the earth continued to shake. Gaara sent a wave of sand to block them, but Keiko parted it with a wave of her hand. Gaara's eyes widened in fear. She was already channeling lightning at the giant wave of sand when she became visible through its wall. It turned to glass when it struck and shattered into millions of pieces.

Kakashi gathered water from the river nearby. "Water style: water dragon jutsu!" he cried. Kakashi sent his jutsu to gather them as leaves and glass that ricochet every direction. Gaara raised a sand shield in front of them to stop the strays.

"Wood clone jutsu," Yamato said next to him.

"Shadow clone jutsu," echoed Kakashi.

Wordlessly a sand clone appeared next to Gaara. The clones all sped towards Keiko infused with chakra from their makers. None of their attacks landed. She stepped with the sword cutting them down with ease. Keiko swung and grabed the last shadow Kakashi by the throat and squeezed. Poof. It disappeared.

The real Kakashi got as close as he could through the chaos and stopped several yards from her. "I'm the one you want," he called. "I'm the one that abandoned you."

Keiko charged in his direction. So fast. He hoped he had enough time before she made it to him. "Mangekyō Sharingan!"

Her world dissolved. She skidded to a stop, looking around at the change in scenery. She sniffed the air and tried to get a grip on her new battlefield. Kakashi knew he should be afraid, but the only thing he was afraid of was hurting her. An echo Kakashi appeared behind her. "Keiko," he whispered. She cut through the illusion with her sword. Another appeared. "Keiko, I'm so sorry I left you. Please, if you want to hurt someone, hurt me. Don't hurt the others."

Keiko's hands flew over her ears. She screamed at the same time she roared, sounding like two horrific voices calling out as one. In the real world, she fell to her knees. Zenmai disappeared as she still held her hands to hear ears. Slowly her demonic features disappeared and her screams turned into sobs. Kakashi wrapped his arms around her as the rain continued to fall. She went still at last. "You always were into Cliché's," she said before blacking out.

"That was almost like watching the Nine Tails," Yamato said.

"I'm sure it could have been much worse. I think she was in there fighting it. She managed to win in the end. She stopped on her own when she finally heard my voice. I didn't do anything," Kakashi said as he closed his eyes.

Gaara gripped both hands into fists as he watched. "She…holds back a lot of her power. Always. I think if the Keiko we know was to completely disappear and the demon took over, the destruction would be several times any of the tailed beasts."

"You put yourself at great risk Hokage…Kakashi-sama," said Yamato evenly.

Kakashi stood with Keiko still in his arms. "It was the only way to get her to focus on me so I could trap her within the Sharingan," he said. Kakashi walked over to Gaara and placed Keiko in his arms. Gaara looked at him in surprise. "I read the report with Itachi. For some reason Sharingan doesn't seem all that effective against Keiko. I was hoping it would be enough to give me time to get through to her," he said. Kakashi wiped his brow and looked at the destruction around them. "There's a lot of things that I can think of that Orochimaru and Kabuto could get out of this, but that doesn't really help us understand his true goal."

They all looked onto the landscape in silence before making for the hospital wing.


	5. Chapter 5 - Containing the Beast

**Chapter 5: Containing the Beast**

They were met by Naruto leading several Jonin and some of the ANBU. "Are you ok sirs?" asked the ANBU captain.

"Everyone is fine," Kakashi said. "Well, except Keiko. We need to get her to the hospital immediately."

"Of course, sir. We'll guard your way."

Sakura was one of the first on the scene in the hospital. Kakashi and Gaara relayed everything they could to her as they rushed Keiko into the ICU. They had to start from scratch. Everything they had worked on with the virus so far was back in the Village Hidden in the Sand. Sakura made the others wait outside so she could do her work. All they could do was stand in the hall silently and wait. As the minutes went by for what felt like hours, Gaara reluctantly decided he needed to go send word home that he was ok and to forward any progress on the virus to them in the Leaf.

Back in the ICU, Sakura checked on Keiko's vitals after she had been stabilized. She finally allowed Kakashi in and he sat on Keiko's opposite side as Sakura made notes in a chart. He held Keiko's hand in the restraints.

"Kakashi-sama," Sakura breathed, I've never seen anything like this.

Kakashi lowered his eyes.

About a half hour later of sitting in silence, Kakashi left to go back up to his office to clear his head and think. Gaara had joined them by then and stayed with her.

A while later, Gaara, Yamato, Sakura, and Naruto joined Kakashi in his office. "What's our status?" Kakashi asked, turning to Sakura as the door behind them opened.

Tsunade invited herself in after the rest and shook her head. "Sakura and I have been going over everything we can think of. It's not good Kakashi."

"We're worried when she wakes she could possibly go on a rampage again. I don't know if we have the skills to restrain her. Possibly there are seals that could be used, but we don't even know what we're dealing with," Sakura said.

"I really hate to say this, but I think our best bet is finding and capturing Kabuto," said Tsunade.

"I was starting to think that may be the case," said Kakashi solemnly.

"Do we even have any leads?" asked Gaara.

"Perhaps when Keiko wakes up she will remember where that bug bite happened," Kakashi answered. "At least that would give us an area to start searching. All we know now is that there is a possibility Kabuto has been somewhere between the graduate school and the Sand Village."

"What bug?" asked Naruto.

"Keiko remembered getting bitten by something, and when she showed the healer where she got bit, that's where the poison was coming from," Kakashi relayed.

"Any support you need Kakashi-sama, I will coordinate it with you," said Gaara.

"I will do everything it takes. This isn't just about saving Keiko. This poses a threat to the villages if we don't figure out what is going on. It's likely not going to remain safe to keep Keiko in the hospital. We may need to think of alternative ways to contain her until we can figure this out," said Kakashi.

"Contain?!" Gaara rose angrily. He hated confinement. He hated containment. He had been free of Shukaku nearly two years but he still remembered when the demon took over how he felt trapped in his own body.

Naruto put a hand on Gaara's arm. "Kakashi-sensei would never want to hurt Keiko. I'm sure he means it for the best."

The whole room looked at Naruto in astonishment. "I trust him with my life, and I know Keiko-nee-san does too."

Kakashi nodded. "You know I would lay down my life for Keiko. But I can't put that risk on the rest of the village, or on her. It's for everyone's protection. It's just temporary until we can find a cure. I have a few people in mind that may be able to help us with sealing a chamber."

Gaara looked at the floor, unsure what he was feeling.


	6. Chapter 6 - Sealing the Spread

Kakashi," Tsunade said, "I really think Jiraiya may be able to help us on this one. He is rather skilled with seals. Perhaps he can do one that may contain this so she doesn't have to be locked up."

"That's not a bad idea," Kakashi said. "The only problem is that he's off on recon at the moment for another mission."

"Actually, I just saw him earlier today Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto. "The pervy sage was off near a bathhouse doing 'research,'" said Naruto with a disgusted face.

"Naruto, could you go look for him and bring him here? We need him sooner rather than later," Kakashi said.

"I'm on it!" Naruto grinned holding a thumbs up. He disappeared through the open window.

It wasn't long before Naruto returned with Jiraiya who was mumbling about Naruto butting in and ruining his research. "What did you need to see me about Kakashi?"

"It's Keiko," he said. Jiraiya only needed to look around the faces in the room to read the rest. "I'll fill you in on the way," said Kakashi.

The group went down to the room where Keiko was resting and Jiraiya looked her over intently. "This is Orochimaru's doing?" he asked.

"Or Kabuto," said Sakura.

"Hmm. I can't say I've seen anything exactly like this before, but we may be able to stop the spread with a seal, at least temporarily. It's not going to keep it at bay forever."

"Please Jiraiya-sama, anything you can do to help her," Gaara said.

"Well, ok. Here goes." Jiraiya gathered green chakra in his hand. Characters appeared made out of chakra on the tips of his fingers. "Five point seal," he called as he pressed them to her neck. Keiko's body spasmed, but she otherwise didn't wake. They saw a black border appear around the site of the bite. Sakura stepped up and began using her chakra to try and make the spread recede to within the borders of the seal. Slowly, the veining disappeared.

"We should still keep an eye on her and see what her temperament is like when she wakes. I don't think we should remove the restraints just yet," said Tsunade.

The rest left the room leaving Gaara and Kakashi alone with her. Gaara touched her face and peered down at her sadly. Catching his cue, Kakashi left the room as well. "Please let us know if there are any developments," he said before sliding the door shut behind him.

He was more adept at hiding his feelings than Keiko as he had more practice at it, but inside this was tearing Kakashi apart. It was hard for him to watch another man hold and comfort her. But Gaara had every right; she was his wife after all.

Not knowing what else to do, Kakashi made for the archives to search for anything that may have been mentioned about any type of research Kabuto or Orochimaru had been involved in during their time in the Hidden Leaf. "I think I'll join you," Tsunade said falling in step next to him from an adjoining hall. "All hands on deck as usual," she muttered sardonically.

Jiraiya had just finished calming an upset Naruto down and sending him home when he bumped into Tsunade and Kakashi. "I'm going to see if I can track down any leads on anything Kabuto might have been up to recently," Jiraiya said. "I've been keeping my ear to the ground and have heard a few rumors, but nothing that has turned into any significant leads. Mostly I've been looking for leads on the Akatsuki."

"I think it stands to reason that they are likely somewhere between the Sand and the Leaf. I've not heard anything about disappearances from any of the allied villages. It's almost like Orochimaru is toying with us and targeting us specifically," Tsunade said.

"That does seem most likely based on the rumors I've been hearing as well. There's been reports of more snake attacks, ghosts, and demons in the last two weeks than in the last year combined it seems. Maybe we should use radios as this situation develops just in case...just in case anything happens," said Kakashi darkly.

Jiraiya and Tsunade nodded.


	7. Chapter 7 - A Plan

**Chapter 7: A plan**

Once they were sure the spread was contained, Keiko seemed to improve. Her breathing grew more even and her heart rate steadied. They all wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but the truth was that they didn't really know exactly what they were dealing with. Keiko became lucid after a few days and she seemed enough of herself that the healers removed the restraints, but she was still irritable.

Gaara kept regular communication with Temari and Kankurō by hawk. Kakashi had given Gaara one of the short range radios for use within the Leaf Village since they were all on high alert. For the moment everything seemed pretty quiet.

"They haven't been able to find anything I take it," Keiko asked rhetorically.

Gaara turned to look out the window.

"I feel like all my senses are on fire. Every sight, sound, smell...it's like it's amplified and it burns," she said as though just talking about it was causing her pain. "I can hear your heart rate increase and I can smell your palms sweat. You're afraid of me."

Gaara was interrupted in his thought at her last words. He turned to take her hand. "I'm afraid for you. I don't know what will happen and I hate to see you suffering."

"Maybe you should be afraid. Do you know what a greater demon can do when it's out of control?"

Gaara thought back to a few nights ago when Keiko had ripped the landscape apart outside of town. "I think I have a pretty good idea."

"It's likely I could have put a lot of damage on the Akatsuki a long time ago, but as you know, when a demon is out of control it hurts everyone else as well."

"I know, ," said Gaara solemnly. "If I didn't have Kankurō and Temari, who knows what Shukaku would have made me do." He had been rid of the one tail Sand demon's control for a couple years, but he still remembered when it would whisper to him.

"Kakashi said I shattered one of your sand barriers…did I…did I hurt you?"

"Not a scratch," he said reassuringly. "I was just surprised. It's been broken before, but...not like that."

"I'm so sorry."

"Keiko this isn't your fault. It's that meddling bastard Kabuto. You've been through so much these last couple years. We all have. Kabuto's specialty is using those moments of complacency against us. Don't worry, we're going to find him."

"I could probably smell that snake from ten miles away," she growled. They both looked at each other in sudden understanding.

"Hokage-sama," Gaara radioed.

"Hai! Go ahead," a voice radioed back.

"I think we may have an idea."

"Hmm, I see. I suppose that makes sense. Sometimes hypersensitivity is the body's way of reacting when something's been compromised," said Tsunade after Gaara explained to those present.

"I think under the circumstances this should be a recon only mission until we know what we're dealing with," Kakashi said. Gaara nodded in agreement. "So I think that we need Shikamaru's team as they are the best at strategy. We should take Sakura's team for healing in case we run into trouble, and I think in light of that we should add Yamato to my team along with Gaara and Keiko. Tsunade, would you be willing to hold down the fort while we're gone?"

"Of course."

He continued, "I realize it may be unorthodox to go on this myself, but I think that this is the best set of teams for the job."

"And you wouldn't forgive yourself if something happened to her," Tsunade said quietly to herself. Gaara who was nearest to her, closed his eyes.

"What was that?" Kakashi asked.

"Nothing."


	8. Chapter 8 - Through the Portal

**Chapter 8: Through the Portal**

That evening, the teams gathered near the entrance to the village.

"All right, listen up. Genma is going to be working with Naruto's team on this one. Your team will be watching our left flank. Aoba will be joining Shikamaru's team to watch our right. We need Keiko's nose for the success of this mission, so she will be leading. Shikamaru is going to be assessing the situation as we go. We don't want to run into a fight unless we have to. The goal of this is recon," said Kakashi.

"Seems like we're pretty heavily stacked," Shikamaru said.

"I don't want to underestimate our enemy or have any...accidents," he said turning to Keiko. She said nothing. "As some of you already know, Keiko has been attacked by Kabuto and possibly Orochimaru. We're not sure whether Itachi was able to successfully trap all of his essence."

"How do we know it was Kabuto?" Genma asked.

"The particular virus that is attacking her is specific to her cellular structure. It won't spread to humans," said Sakura. "Kabuto was in the position to capture some of her DNA about a year ago."

"Part of the overkill is for your safety as well. This virus was suppressing my higher cognitive function prior to Jiraiya-sama sealing it away. I may not have the talent in ninjutsu the rest of you have, but I have the ability to wield elements to a degree without hand signs," Keiko explained. "If I get out of control and you can't subdue me, you will die." Her eyes flashed as a chill washed over the group.

"What Keiko means to say is that we're dealing with something unknown on all fronts, and this is going to be dangerous. If we're fortunate, everything will go as planned," Kakashi reassured them.

Shikamaru stepped in. "It's a real drag, but unfortunately, all we have to go on is that disappearances have been happening between here and the Hidden Sand. Keiko-sama was initially attacked between the Graduate Academy and there. There's a chance Kabuto has been watching us all for quite some time. Getting the drop on him may be a challenge, especially in a group so large. But hopefully Keiko-sama's nose will eliminate his ability to evade us."

"All right. Everyone, let's move out," Kakashi said.

Keiko didn't know how she knew where to go, but it was like Kabuto was in the room with her, leaning over her while she was tied to a slab again. His scent invaded her nostrils.

"How far?" Shikamaru asked.

"It's hard to tell. It's like his scent is setting my nose on fire," she said. "Gauging on the direction, I'd say it's likely he's closer to the Sand than to us."

"How do you know that?" Genma asked.

"I have no idea."

It seemed like hours before they passed the graduate academy. About a mile later, Keiko slowed to a stop and crouched down in a tree.

"Keiko?" Shikamaru asked.

Her eyes narrowed. "He knows."

"Is he alone?" Aoba asked.

"I'm not really sure. I smell something else, but it's not quite human. The scent makes me uneasy and I don't know why."

Kakashi fixed his eyes on her face. He hadn't been on any major missions with her. She was so focused. Assessing everything. Just like when they used to run together through the woods at night so long ago. She complained that emotions had washed her of her focus and weakened her. Was she reverting back to the hardened creature they found lying unconscious all those years ago? He turned his attention back to the task at hand.

"What are our options?" Aoba asked.

"We don't even have any intel yet, and we've lost the element of surprise, so not many," Shikamaru said.

"I realize it's counterproductive to why so many of us came, but we may need to split up," Keiko said as she continued to stare out into the dark.

"Unfortunately, I agree," Shikamaru replied.

Keiko's team moved closer cautiously. Their left flank held back for support. The right prepared to move behind the enemy once he was distracted by Keiko's team.

They heard menacing laughter echoing through the trees. "No point in hiding I suppose at this point. Keiko, I'm disappointed you didn't complete your mission," Kabuto said from somewhere in the dark.

Keiko's team looked at her as she continued to glare out at something they couldn't see, snarling.

"It can't be helped I suppose. Your same weakness that has allowed you to be bested by me is the same weakness that prevented you from hurting your friends. This love business does you no favors."

"So, you call poisoning me a mission?" she snapped back.

The laughter continued. "I designed that virus to make you into your true Yokai form. The destruction of the villages should have been inevitable. Such raw power. I saw you from a distance outside of the Leaf. Can you imagine with me to guide you what we could accomplish?"

"What do you see?" Gaara asked her quietly.

"Kabuto is staying out of range. There's others with him. It looks like...people...but they're not," she whispered back.

"Just some of my experiments. They all turned out failures, but they still have some use left." The figures leapt from the shadows. They were all horribly disfigured. There was little left of the citizens or shinobi remaining. Only the headbands of a few were recognizable. Snakes replaced the limbs of many of them. A few extended towards the teams at a violent rate.

Yamato grew a barrier in front of them as a wave of sand rose from the ground. They heard the oppressors collide on the other side. Kakashi watched, assessing the movements of their opponents.

A swarm of bees approached them from behind. The sand swelled up and swatted them away. Kakashi turned his gaze to Keiko and watched intently. The bees, were they what had injected Keiko with this virus? The look on her face made him uneasy.

Wind swirled around them as Keiko remained crouched on the branch. The strength grew with the speed. It pulsed and expanded out, pushing their attackers back. Several of the grotesque experiments remaining behind Yamato's barrier were stopped in their tracks by a shadow bind as Shikamaru's shadows stretched to capture as many as possible.

"Fire style!" Called Aoba as he stood on top of the wood barrier, but he wasn't the only one. Sasuke had appeared nearby drawn by the commotion. He joined his fire with Aoba's, and it strengthened with Keiko's wind. The creatures were obliterated.

"I know when to reassess my position. I'm sure we will meet again soon, Keiko," Kabuto called.

Naruto's team joined the rest from the rear. Naruto made to take off after Kabuto, but Kakashi stopped him. "Stay here," Kakashi warned.

Keiko's eyes were glowing red. Her fangs grew as the markings on her face darkened.

"Keiko," said Kakashi softly. He wasn't sure if he should touch her. He didn't want to set her off or they'd all be in danger. The wind began to pick up around them again and the tree branches waved violently.

"Keiko," Gaara echoed.

As if she heard neither, she growled.

"Everyone, back up," Yamato called, sensing the impending explosion.

Keiko roared as her body grew. Large paws erupted from her arms and took the place of her hands; a white coat of fur replaced the yukata. Kakashi stepped in front of her. "Mangekyo Sharingan."

In the vision, Keiko stood in a cave of water. In the middle was an island with a tree that reached up toward the small stream of light.

"What is this place?" Kakashi asked her.

Keiko looked at him and tried to speak, but no words came out. In the corner a beast growled through the darkness, eyes glowing. "I have a thirst for blood," called the deep, but unmistakably female voice. "And it comes so willingly into my midst." The humanoid Keiko pointed to it. She appeared to be shouting, but there was no sound. Kakashi looked into Keiko's eyes. He was able to read one soundless word on her lips. Run.

Kakashi dispelled the sharingan and moved back with the others. The tree on which they were standing split as lightning struck it. Keiko took off into the sky as the wind continued to howl. They watched as she drew further away.

"S-sasuke," Sakura said meekly.

"I've been hunting him down for a while now. It seems now that Orochimaru isn't calling the shots, Kabuto doesn't want anything to do with me at the moment. Hm," he mused.

"Sasuke, you came to help us?" Naruto asked.

"In a manner of speaking. Nee-san was much more effective at cornering...or at least baiting him than I've been. It presented an opportunity. If there were not so many of you, he probably would have stayed longer."

Kakashi put his hand to his chin and tilted his head down in thought. "We're not going to catch Kabuto when he knows we're hot on his trail. He's too effective at covering his tracks. Yamato, can you send a wood clone to try and follow him? At least maybe we can track his movement and figure out where he's going next."

"Sure," he said as his double grew from his back.

"If you don't mind, I plan on going after Kabuto as well," Sasuke said. "Well, see ya."

"But ah," Sakura stalled.

Kakashi cut across her, "I think at this point our objective needs to be stopping Keiko before she can do any damage to herself or others."

"Nee-san he called her," Sakura thought. "What does it mean?"

Keiko thrashed as she soared through the sky. She felt in conflict with her body as she took off toward that place. The seal seemed to be holding for the moment, but it was like Keiko's feelings were amplified and disorganized. She was short tempered and looking for a way to escape. Part of her felt good to be in her true form, part of her couldn't wait to change back. But she couldn't. Not until she reached that place.

"I saw in the genjutsu a cave with a tree. It wasn't a vision made by me. Does that mean anything to any of you?" Kakashi asked.

"I think I have a good idea where she may have gone," Gaara said.

When they reached the Village Hidden in the Sand, they were joined by a group of shinobi that included Temari and Kankuro.

"Gaara! What's going on?" Temari asked.

"Keiko's lost control again," he replied. No one needed to ask what that meant. "We need to stop her before things get out of control."

The large group sped toward their destination in relative silence. When they reached the cave, Kakashi ordered the others to stay outside and wait for a signal. "We don't want to startle her or it will make things worse." He and Gaara proceeded into the cave alone.

Keiko stood panting, palm pointed towards a wall at the back of the cave. She seemed ruffled, but otherwise appeared to be herself. The wall began to glow under her touch.

Understanding washed over Gaara. "Keiko, no!"

"I can't stay here. You're all in danger and we are no closer to finding a cure. There may be someone on my home world who can help."

Gaara raced towards her and Kakashi cottoning on, did the same.

Keiko attempted to escape through the portal, but both Gaara and Kakashi grabbed onto her as she stepped through.


	9. Chapter 9 - Feudal Fairytail

**Chapter 9: Feudal Fairytail**

 _Summary:_

 _EXPLICIT WARNING_

They both lifted her up off the floor on the other side and looked around the cave. Behind them the portal stood dark and empty. The same writing surrounded it as the one in the cave in the Sand Village. Books sat scattered on the ground near a shelf.

"Why?" asked Keiko painfully.

"You know we're not going to just abandon you," Gaara said as he wrapped his arm around her. Keiko's expression softened for a fleeting moment before contorting back into an emotionless glare.

"Where are we?" asked Kakashi.

"My home world. I seem to recall you wanted to come for a visit. It may not be a pleasant one," she said icily as she let go of Gaara. Keiko stalked toward to the entrance of the cave leaving them stopped in her wake.

They followed behind her and looked to the sky. Dragons...or something that looked like dragons swam through the sky like giant sea serpents. They roared in the distance. Gaara and Kakashi looked on with astonishment.

"I warned you, demons walk this world in droves," she said coldly.

"Inuyasha!" They heard a voice yell from somewhere in the woods beyond the clearing. "What are you doing?"

"I smell something over this way," he yelled back.

"Well don't just run off!" the other voice yelled.

Geez, they were never quiet. It was amazing that she never did find the wishing well with the way those two crashed through the woods. She smelled another scent as well. Keiko grinned wickedly. Looked like she was going to get her family reunion after all.

"I've been looking for you," said Sesshomaru as he descended.

Keiko had been expecting that. Sesshoumaru had been after her birthright ever since he began hunting down demon swords. "Why might that be?" She asked cooly.

"Aside from the fact that I intend to claim that sword of yours, my mother wants to see you," he said bereft of emotion. His lips turned up into a grin. He suddenly appeared at Keiko's side and wrapped a clawed finger around her neck, leaving a scratch. A drop of blood slowly trickled from beneath his hold and down her neck. Gaara and Kakashi were already preparing to defend, but Keiko waved them down with her hand.

"And then perhaps before I slit your throat, you will show me how you've been able to conceal yourself from me for so long," said Sesshomaru.

"Oh Sesshomaru, always so melodramatic. I've grown while I've been away. You couldn't hope to get any closer to me than I let you," she snarled into his face, their noses nearly touching.

Inuyasha sprang from the bushes, sitting with his knuckles to the ground. "I thought I smelled a rat," he said, snearing.

"Inuyasha!" shouted Kagome angrily, stumbling after him. Her expression softened when she saw the visitors. "Oh. Sesshomaru. Keiko."

"Hello Kagome," said Keiko as gently as she could through her anger. Sesshomaru shot her a look. It wasn't lost on Keiko.

"OH please, act all mighty all you want; you who raises a human of your own. Where's Rin?" Keiko shot back.

"She's with Jaken. Fishing." he said begrudgingly. Keiko snorted.

"Gaara, Kakashi, meet my family. The Inu-Hanyo Inuyasha that thinks he's a Yokai, and Sesshomaru the Yokai that thinks he hates humans but lets one follow him around."

Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha both glared at her. They seemed to feel something was off because surprisingly, neither of them said anything, though Inuyasha growled. "Since I'm here, I guess I should see what my aunt wants...as long as I have your word my guests will be safe," Keiko said looking at Sesshomaru.

"You know that we wouldn't harm anyone on invitation. I make no promises afterward," he replied.

"It was nice to see you Kagome, Inuyasha."

Keiko remained on her humanoid form and grabbed Gaara and Kakashi in her fluffy cloud of a tail as they took to the sky. They watched the landscape below interestedly. This was the first time Kakashi had flown with her before and he felt more uneasy than Gaara. He didn't let his focus wander for long before he set it back on her and the strange demon.

"Ghh," they heard Keiko gasp. She was grasping her neck where the mark was being contained.

"Are you ok Keiko?" Kakashi asked in a low voice. Somehow he felt that he shouldn't alert the other Yokai to her injury. He may be her family, but after the introduction, Kakashi considered him a likely enemy. Gaara said nothing, wordlessly assessing the situation but keeping his thoughts to himself.

"I'm fine," she said more to herself than the others.

After a moment, she continued, "I know we are all strong, but I can't stress enough to you, be careful around my tribe. They don't have all the same powers I do, but they have enough. These are dangerous waters. My aunt is pretty versed in the history of healing magics," Keiko looked at them significantly, "but she really doesn't care for humans."

As they approached the palace, Keiko did her best to keep Kakashi and Gaara hidden. Swarms of lesser demons milled about at the bidding of her tribe. She thought that was rather curious. She saw several noses turn up to sniff the air as the newcomers flew overhead.

"Inukimi," Keiko bowed respectfully as she approached her aunt.

"Ah, Keiko-chan," she replied, "how brave of you to bring a human in our midst. What is this one? A Hanyo?" She said looking at Gaara. "He has that smell about him. Very brave indeed."

Gaara folded his arms but otherwise he and Kakashi didn't move or speak.

"They are with me and therefor guests by your invitation," Keiko bowed again.

He aunt smiled, "Of course."

They walked through the hall to an audience chamber. Her aunt sat on the only available seat as her guests stood, waiting.

"It seems you have them trained quite well. They do not speak in your presence," her aunt noted almost approvingly.

"You said you wanted to see me," Keiko interjected.

"Despite how you have been treated in the past, you are still Inu-Yokai. And only Inu-Yokai can...further the line as it were," the Inukimi said.

"I am already married," Keiko said expressionlessly.

"ARE you now. I was not made aware of this. Who is he? Another tribe?"

Keiko doubted greatly that divulging that information would help their chances.

"With respect Inukimi, that is business of my own," Keiko replied, "however there is another matter I wish to discuss with you."

"A human," shot Sesshomaru.

"Truly? Really, Keiko. I knew you sympathized with these pathetic creatures, but to crawl into bed with one?" The Inukimi said.

"I seem to recall my uncle did the same," Keiko said before she could stop herself. The Inukimi growled dangerously.

"I do not wish to draw swords here. I left the clan a hundred years ago. I have left you in peace. Leave me to mine," Keiko said.

"I will honor our invitation," said the Inukimi, "but be warned, if you go against the wishes of the clan, I will not always be able to protect you. Be gone."

"So much for learning any healing arts," grumbled Keiko as they left. Sesshomaru glared after her. She snickered. He didn't dare defy his mother right in front of her to come after the sword.

Keiko hadn't mastered any techniques that would really build a comfortable shelter. She was unsure if the others had, but somehow she felt they didn't care either way. Under the circumstances, she didjt want to leave them without some measure of protection. They would at least be able to hear someone trying to break through if it came to that. They made a small shelter of rock and sand in the woods. Gaara and Kakashi lay down for the night, Keiko snuggled between them.

After Keiko was asleep, Kakshi broke the silence. "So what do you think?" He asked without turning to Gaara.

"About what?" Gaara replied.

Kakashi didn't answer.

Gaara sighed, "Well we both already know where we are at with Kabuto, so I doubt that's what you mean. I don't know what to think right now, but I can't help thinking about it either even despite everything else that's going on. Things were going better between us, but I don't know that she's really going to let go of you completely. Not as long as you exist in the world."

They lay there in silence as several more moments passed.

"If our places were reversed, what would you do?" Gaara asked.

"I told you, I'm selfish," Kakashi grinned in the pale light. "I would do whatever it takes to keep her, even if part of her heart belonged to you. That's why you're the better man. I'd let her be stuck between and confused and unhappy just so I could be with her as much as I can."

"It's not a whole lot different from where things are now," Gaara said.

"Except that she only goes home to you. I haven't touched her since the day she decided to go home with you. She made that choice on her own. I may have encouraged it, but you're married to her, I'm not. Had we been married, I would have fought to get her to stay," Kakashi said, "I have no claim to her."

Gaara thought about it for a while as the minutes continued to pass. "I don't know that I can do that. I don't know if I can go through watching her heart wane again. I've had enough abandonment in my life. I was finally happy with her. Neither of us exactly counted on your return."

"You wish I was dead."

"Not in such a perverse sense...I just wish that memory jutsu had worked," Gaara replied.

"I do too, for her sake," Kakashi whispered.

"The memory jutsu..." said Gaara thoughtfully.

"What about it?"

"If we...tried it your way, could you make us both forget?" Gaara asked.

"For short term memory, yes...but try it what way?" Kakashi asked suspiciously.

"If we tried...if she had us both."

"I wouldn't be able to erase months of her going back and forth trying to keep a relationship with both of us, no," Kakashi sighed.

"What about...something more short term?"

Kakashi's face lengthened. "You are more perverse than I give you credit for," he replied as he caught on.

"I wouldn't even suggest this, but it would be the easiest way to see how we feel about it, and then we could forget," Gaara said.

Keiko yawned sleepily, "I can't sleep when you two keep jabbering on about who gets to sleep with me next."

"We never said..." Gaara said in a panic.

"I didn't hear all of it but that's where it was going," she said slyly.

"What about you?" Gaara asked looking at Kakashi in the dim moonlight shining through the skylight Keiko had made.

"I can't make myself forget," Kakashi said, "but I already told you where I stand on the subject. I'd do anything."

"How's the mark?" Gaara asked Keiko. "Do you think...it would be a danger?"

"It seems like it's effecting me less in this world. I felt more of a pull the closer I got to Kabuto."

"What am I saying, this is the last thing we should be thinking about right now," Gaara said.

"Seems to me like there's no better time to try," Keiko said.

Keiko wasn't sure if she should be excited or afraid. Everything in her screamed how wrong this was, but every nerve in her body desired this. She didn't think she could become any worse of a person than she already had, and here they were leading her deeper into sin together.

Keiko looked into Gaara's eyes, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I won't remember if I don't," he said reassuringly, putting a hand on her cheek for the first time in days.

Kakashi ran his hands down Keiko's side and around to her front to untie the Yukata. Gaara kissed her deeply. Kakashi removed his mask and Kissed Keiko on the neck. Keiko shivered. The apprehension she had about this gave way to her desire to be with the two men she loved at last.

Kakashi slid a hand up over her breast and squeezed it gently. She could feel him starting to harden against her rear. Keiko wanted to turn to him and feel him touch her, but she felt guilty about turning away from Gaara. In compromise, she rolled over on her back. Both sets of hands began exploring her body. Gaara kissed her collarbone gently as she kissed Kakashi on the lips. She felt the other set of lips travel down to her nipple and begin to suck. She didn't know if she was going to last past the touching like this.

Kakashi slid two fingers inside her, well-practiced in loving her, he caressed the ridge inside her. Keiko moaned. Kakashi found that he couldn't wait to taste her. He wanted her to enjoy every second of this. He didn't know if it would ever happen again. He bent down to flick his tongue over her clit as she rose her hips off the ground. Keiko reached and undid Gaara's pants, pulling him free. She ran her hand up and down his shaft.

She took Gaara's hand and pulled him to her. He looked at her confused as he obeyed. He shifted closer and she moved her hand back to his member and slid him into her mouth. He groaned.

Keiko's clit grew with arousal as Kakashi continued to lick and suck it as he caressed her. She was getting so wet.

Keiko ran her fingers through Kakashi's hair encouragingly as she continued to suck Gaara. She run her tounge up and down the length of his shaft even as she had him inside her mouth. Gaara forgot about the fact that he was sharing her for the moment. This was amazing.

Kakashi couldn't wait anymore. He slid himself inside her and started pumping. At the rush of sudden pleasure, Keiko released Gaara and grabbed hold of Kakashi at the waist. Kakashi lay on his side and turned her toward him.

Gaara continued to caress her as Kakashi found his release. She rolled over and pulled Gaara on top of her as they were both pushed to the edge.

They all collapsed, breathless. They continued to hold Keiko between them as she fell back asleep.

"So...what do you want me to do?" Kakashi asked.

"I...don't know," Gaara admitted. "It was interesting but I still don't know that I can live this way. Not to mention, we're in charge of two different villages. It would be impossible to hide this from anyone if she or we were constantly going back and forth and disappearing into a bedroom."

"Well...it's not like it's just about sex," Kakashi said grimly.

"I know but, don't you worry under the circumstances it would turn into that?" Gaara asked.

"I suppose you're right."

"I know this kind of goes back on my word that I would forget but...maybe...she just would be happier with you," said Gaara in defeat.

"Only she can really make that decision. You have to make yours," Kakashi said.

Gaara woke Keiko gently, "I'm sorry love. We...need to talk about this now. It can't really wait."

"I told you, I'm a terrible person. You're both better off without me. That's why I came here in the first place," she said softly. "The only reason I've been having trouble so long is that I love you both. Since Kabuto has awoken this primal side in me, I don't know that I can truly let either go. At least if I'm here, I can't hurt you, and if the seal breaks free, I can't hurt the villages."

"Maybe..." said Gaara, "maybe we shouldn't forget this. Maybe we need this so we can make our choices. This experience...inclines me to want her to go home with you, Kakashi."

"What?" squeaked Keiko. "Gaara, no, please just...please wipe my memory," she turned and begged Kakashi.

Kakashi looked at her with a pained expression.

"You said you can live with this, I don't know if I can," Gaara said half to Kakashi.

"I think the only reason I can is because I'm the one that did this to her. Getting hurt wasn't my fault, but if she hadn't thought I was dead, she would never be in this situation," Kakashi said.

Keiko was in tears.

"I know that...I know that she only came to me because of the situation, and she didn't intend to love me, but knowing that is what makes this so hard. Knowing what she's been through...anyone else I would not have put up with this," said Gaara coldly.

"That's pretty harsh," said Kakashi as he continued to cradle the crying Keiko in his arms.

She had nothing to say. She was being torn apart. She wished the mark would take her over again.

"Things were fine when she was only with me, but I know that with you alive, her desire for you is greater. I've been trying to ignore it. She's been trying and I wanted to believe it, but the reality is what it is," Gaara said.

"If that's really what you want, I promise I will make sure she's taken care of," said Kakashi quietly.

Keiko didn't know it was possible to be so happy and unhappy in the same moment. Part of Gaara's words rang true. Kakashi was her first love, she'd never really been able to let go. She desired the acceptance and the protection from him. He even loved her when she was so ugly. The fact that Gaara did not, frightened her. She couldn't blame him, but she felt safer with Kakashi as a broken person. Having been what he'd been through, she always thought Gaara was the one accepting of her brokenness.

Gaara left the shelter, leaving Kakashi holding Keiko alone.

"Please, Kakashi, please erase it," she begged.

"It's not going to make him forget if I do, love. And then you won't understand," he replied.

"I am so sorry, for everything. I feel like this is all my fault," Kakashi said, tears falling from his eyes.

Keiko looked at him through her own watery eyes. She had never seen him cry before. "It's not your fault you got hurt. The choices I made were not your fault. The feelings I had...they're not your fault," she whispered.

"I promise I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you. I know I can't make all the pain go away, but I will try if you'll let me," he said.

"You still want me even if I can't let go of Gaara?" she asked.

"I told you remember? You always have a home with me. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but I know the woman I've always loved is in there. She's just broken from my mistakes," he said softly. "I shouldn't have pushed so hard with Itachi. And I can't promise that I'm never going to die, but I think from now on if there's missions, we do them together. Then there's no more regret. We come home together."

Keiko nodded silently.

Gaara sat outside, listening. He didn't know what to feel. He just knew he wished he hadn't hoped someone would love him. It was so messed up. Kakashi always told him that he was the better man, but he was the one walking away from his wife. He'd had enough pain. He wanted to be whole and he thought she wanted that too. He sighed. He knew their circumstances were different. He should never have agreed to marry her so soon after losing Kakashi. She never did get a chance to heal. He was at fault too. But to be fair, she should never have agreed to marry him either. Hindsight bias he supposed. She probably would have healed if Kakashi hadn't returned when he did.

Gaara went back in the shelter and lay back down. Keiko hugged him and he hugged her back.

"We rushed things. We couldn't have known Kakashi was coming back. We just assumed we'd heal together. I take fault for that too," Gaara said stroking her hair gingerly.

"I'm not going to pretend it won't hurt, but I understand. I don't want you to stay with me out of duty," Gaara said.

"You think I never loved you?" Keiko asked as she hiccuped. She was beautiful even when she cried.

"I know you did, but live I've said before, you love him too. I'll deal with the council. I think you should go home with Kakashi," he said. "Maybe in time we can be friends again."

"I'd like that," Keiko sobbed.


	10. Chapter 10 - Healing

**Chapter 10: Healing**

 _Summary: sorry it's so short after the long one!_

People continued disappearing presumably for Kabuto's experiments. The villages could no longer sit back and accept the situation. They went out hunting for Kabuto full force. At least 24 teams between the two villages swept the woods. They wound up locating his lab, but Kabuto was already gone. They kept guard over the facility and brought in research teams to find a way to synthesize a cure for the virus. They were fortunate that Kabuto was in a hurry to leave and a lot of his work got left behind. They even recovered some of the missing villagers. With the movement of the Sand and the Leaf hunting down Kabuto, the Allied Shinobi Forces took a renewed interest in Kabuto as well and he was forced to return to hiding.

After tireless work for weeks, they eventually found a cure. Keiko remained with Kakashi back in the Hidden Leaf for those weeks. Gaara visited a couple times to coordinate with the Leaf in the research and recovery efforts, and he checked in on Keiko.

After she was on the mend from the cure, Gaara and Keiko divorced quietly to lessen the upset. Gaara had explained to the council the truth, at least in part. Keiko came to them out of duty when she thought Kakashi was dead, and although she loved Gaara very much, the conflict of her heart was just too difficult. Gaara decided to let her go and they would remain friends. The council were not thrilled at first, the Leaf breaking this tie. However, Keiko's continued presence in the future between the villages and the academy set them at ease. In time, the tension between the tensions between them all began to soften again.


	11. Chapter 11 - A New Chapter

**Chapter 11: A New Chapter**

Kakashi no longer technically lead team 7 due to his duties as Hokage, but he still trained with them when he could because he had trouble sitting behind a desk. He brought Gaara and Keiko on board during one of Gaara's visits due to their prowess and approaching undetected. Gaara was far better at it than Keiko but she was getting pretty good. She was still frustrated she couldn't sneak up behind Kakashi.

He grabbed her and kissed her on the cheek through his mask.

"Not quite good enough," he smiled.

"I didn't even make a sound," she complained.

"I have a better sense of smell than the average human," he said. "Besides, this training is more for them than for you," Kakashi said indicating Sakura, Sai, and Naruto somewhere out in the woods.

"Oh, right," she replied. "Well, next time I guess I'll have to make sure I smell like you."

Kakashi groaned. She picked the worst times to inadvertently say things light that. "I'll deal with you later," he said seductively in her ear. Keiko shivered.

Naruto snuck up behind them slowly, grinning to himself. "You're going to have to do better than that," Kakashi said to him without turning.

Gaara appeared inches from Naruto. "It doesn't even seem like you're trying," Gaara said, folding his arms. Naruto jumped several feet in the air.

"Hyua! Don't sneak up in me like that you jerk!" he shouted.

"That is part of the exercise," Gaara said slyly. They all laughed.

Kakashi held Keiko's hand as they returned to their quarters later that evening. The quarters were not quite so large or ornate as those in the Hidden Sand, but they still had a sizeable room with bath and kitchenette. Kakashi grabbed the hat of the Hokage and hung it on the door handle outside the room.

"What's that about?" Keiko asked.

"Oh, nothing," Kakashi smiled easily, "I just thought it might deter people."

"From what?" Keiko asked.

"Oh sweetheart, you usually are quicker than this," he said before kissing her gently. He grinned mischievously, "I believe you have a promise to keep to bath yourself in my scent. It may take a while." Keiko turned a deep shade of red. Kakashi laughed as he wrapped his arms around her.

After they were spent, Kakashi sniffed her neck before grazing it with his lips. "Yep, you could sneak up on me now. You smell like sweaty Kakashi."

Keiko giggled. "That's so gross."

Kakashi shook his hair over her shoulder playfully. "Stop it!" Keiko laughed. "You need to take a shower."

"Hmm, seems to me that's your fault. And since you smell like me, I guess that means you need one as well," he said before lifting her up and throwing her over his shoulder. Keiko continued to laugh as he carried her off towards the shower.

Keiko ran a loofa over Kakashi's chest as water poured over them. "I love you, Keiko," he said as he pulled her closer.

"I love you too. I never thought I'd get the chance to say that again."

"You have a lot of days to make up for," he teased.

"Hatake Keiko…" she said to herself quietly.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing, just trying it out," she said sheepishly.

Kakashi and Keiko married in secret as well to not draw further public attention to her divorce with Gaara, though a few of their close friends insisted on throwing a party anyway since nothing could ever stay secret in the Village Hidden in the Leaf. It was weird to Keiko to belong to a place where she wasn't being judged by others the way she was judging herself. Keiko and Kakashi were happier than any had ever seen them. Keiko still loved Gaara deeply, but she found it was able to evolve into a different kind of love that she couldn't do with her love for Kakashi. She and Gaara became very good friends. They spent a lot of time together when they could. Sometimes she'd stay in the Sand after working at the graduate academy. Kakashi never minded as long as she wasn't gone long. She and Gaara stayed separately of course. Gaara never touched her again in that way, except for one time when she laughed, he touched her cheek the way he once did. Some habits die hard.

It was no longer uncomfortable for the three of them to be together. Gaara had dated a few girls but just decided for now at least, his friends and family were enough. Keiko seldom cried anymore, unless she was very happy.

After a few months, it became pretty apparent that Keiko was pregnant. Kakashi arranged for her to work with Iruka-sensei at the Hidden Leaf academy instead of the graduate academy near the Sand to keep her safe and close to home during her term. Tsunade did an ultrasound as Keiko progressed and discovered their family was going to grow more than they thought. Several months later, Keiko and and Kakashi gave birth to twins; one with grey eyes and white hair...the other with auburn and green eyes. Both had little inu ears that twitched when Gaara talked to them as he leaned over their crib. They were adorable. Keiko had a bit of a scare during the birthing process and so while she was recovering, Kakashi and Gaara named the twin boys; Obito for the one with grey eyes and Nabuto for the one with green. The trio didn't officially investigate the parentage, but deep down, the three of them knew. Gaara wanted to make sure he was always there for the kids and for his friends.

"Eventually the villages are going to get curious about Gaara's frequent visits. We don't want to undo the trust that's been so difficult to build. There might be more understanding of they know there's a child involved," Keiko said wisely.

"Don't you think that's going to put more stress on the kids?" Gaara asked.

"I'm sure they're both going to want to grow up knowing their dads. One day they might figure it out on their own. How do you think that would affect them?" Kakashi said.

There was a lot of truth to this, but they were still just infants. They had time to decide.

The bond between the Leaf and the Sand for the time-being, remained the backbone of the Allied Shinobi Forces. The academy was growing and the attitude between the villages softening. The Hokage and Kazekage didn't go out on many dangerous missions of late, but when they did, the three of them tried to arrange it so they could go together. Many of the A rank missions now consisted of both Sand and Leaf shinobi. The villages just assumed this was a display of the unity between the allies. Sakura and Naruto were always happy to watch over the kids if they had no missions of their own.

Keiko had all the happiness in the world that she knew she didn't deserve.

Kakashi sat in the office of the Hokage and leaned back in his chair. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

"This is unlike you to be doing paperwork," Keiko said as she walked in the room.

"I've just been going over the books. Since the Akatsuki are back in hiding and there's been less tension between villages, our revenue is down. Peace is preferable but war is profitable," he said.

Keiko looked out the window in thought at the village below. "You don't think the Akatsuki want the Jinchurichi to start war for financial gain, do you?"

"That's exactly what I think," he said darkly.

"Now that Danzo has been subdued by Tsunade, there's really nothing stopping them from farming out that power to anyone," Keiko finished. "In regards to the other issue, perhaps we should look at exports for times of peace."

"Exactly what I was thinking. Trade floats the economy, but it's still going to leave a lot of shinobi without work," he said.

"We have the academies as well. If the villages agreed on a tuition, those funds could be dispersed between all the villages in the alliance based on size and attendance. A scholarship could be built for those who can't afford it," Keiko said. "It's really the only thing we have that's not operated by the feudal lord."

"I always knew I married a smart wife," he said as he took her hand and pulled her to him. He looked at her for a long moment, studying her face. Despite all of her years she looked so young and beautiful. "I wish I could live all of your lifetimes with you."

Keiko smiles sadly. "There is a way...but I never suggested it before because I know now how hard it is to live and watch your friends die. That didn't bother me before I learned to care about people. I didn't want to ask you to go through that," she said.

"Is it reversible?" Kakashi asked

"Well...yes in a sense. If you stopped using it you'd resume aging. You also realize that this could make you a target for shinobi that seek immortality."

"I'll take my chances. I'd like to be able to spend my retirement with you and the kids. I don't intend to be Hokage forever. I prefer to think of myself as...keeping this seat warm for Naruto," he said happily.

"I know you. You'd never live a quiet retirement. You just want to get out from behind that desk and get back on missions."

"What can I say. I'm more of a hands-on guy," he said as he squeezed her hand tighter.

"Nn, don't start that here," she said through a strained voice. Kakashi laughed.

"So, what would happen with this longevity method of yours?"

"I spent a lot of time researching it after one was destroyed on a world I visited. It's called a philosopher's stone. I of course didn't need the immortality, but it can also make gold which I needed to help me traveling world to world...Don't get excited," she said seeing the look on his face, "too much liquidates the value of money. It wouldn't help the Hidden Leaf."

A knock came at the door and Naruto pushed it open before waiting for a reply. "You wanted to see us sensei?" Naruto's eyes fell on Keiko holding Kakashi's hand. Naruto turned red and scratched his cheek. "I can come back later." Sakura pushed him through the doorway. Sai followed close behind her.

"Ah yes," Kakashi said grinning as he let go of Keiko's hand. "I have an assignment for you. This is a list of all of the citizens of the Hidden Leaf that are listed as having a skilled trade or artisan skills. I want you to locate them and find out if they are doing any manufacturing or trade of goods with those skills and report back to me."

"Aww man," complained Naruto, "that's like a D-rank mission. Can't you assign that to another team?"

Kakashi loomed over him, "This is a very important mission and I trust it to no one else. Our village really depends on this. Your team is very adept at building good relationships and trust with everyone and we need that on this mission."

"What will this accomplish exactly?" asked Sakura, "aren't they in business for themselves?"

"Well technically yes, but I think this will give us a better idea of our trade hierarchy so we can see if there's anything we can do to adjust our economy," Kakashi said.

They all stared. "Sure, whatever you say Sensei," muttered Naruto before shuffling out of the room.

After they left, Keiko wrapped her arms around Kakashi's. "You're such a sweet talker, you know that? How did I get to be the lucky woman?"

"I know you always say that you didn't deserve me, but I believe I married up."

Keiko's eyes dropped to the floor. "Hey," Kakashi said, "I think it's impossible to go through what you went through and not have some regrets. I've known you long before any of it happened and I've known you since. Even during all the rest and knowing you were with someone else, my love for you has never changed."

"Expanding beyond the journal entries, huh?" Keiko asked quietly. Keiko hadn't seen any more of Kakashi's journals sitting around. She supposed he was too busy to keep them now.

"If it helps to sweet talk you every day, I will. I like to see you smile again," he said kissing her cheek.

"You've been reading those books again," Keiko accused with a smirk.

"Nope, the real thing is better. Come on, let's get some lunch. If we have enough time, maybe I'll have you for desert," he purred. Keiko flushed again. "You know, if Iruka doesn't need any help at the academy right now, we should discuss making you my secretary."

"I'm pretty sure workplace harassment might not look very good on your record, Hokage-sama," Keiko joked. "Advances on the secretary are a cliché you don't want."

"Yes, but the view would encourage me to come work in my office more often."

"You're really laying this on thick," Keiko groaned.

"Is it working?"

"Yes, just don't become like Jiraiyah."

"I only have eyes for one woman unlike Jiraiyah.-sama," Kakashi said indignantly.

Keiko snorted, "Hatake Kakashi, son of the White Fang, copy ninja, master of the Sharingan, 6th Hokage, and seducer of Yokai."

"Stop procrastinating. The kids will be home soon," he said as he led Keiko towards their quarters.


	12. Chapter 12 - Epilogue

**Chapter 12: Epilogue**

Obito and Nabuto grew it seemed too quick. The people of the town were a little more kind to them than they had been to Naruto, but anyone that's different still tends to breed suspicion occasionally. Keiko's presence at the academy put most of the kids at ease about her sons.

Keiko would take the boys to visit Gaara in the Sand now that they were older since he was often busy when they weren't coordinating missions. Keiko knew it must be frustrating for Nabuto and she went back and forth on whether they should have told him.

"Okaa-san?" Nabuto asked. "Why do Nii-san and I have different fathers? And why do we look different from the other kids?"

Keiko sighed. She hoped she didn't have to explain this until they were older. Obito was listening in intensively on the conversation and Keiko gestured him over to sit next to them on the couch.

"Before you two were born. Obito's father and I were supposed to be married. We thought he died on a mission. The villages wanted someone from the Leaf to marry Nabuto's father so we could join our villages together and they chose me. We found out Kakashi was still alive after I already cared deeply for your father," she said, turning to Nabuto. "It was very difficult for me. They tried to find a way to make it work, but it's just not possible to devote that level of love to more than one person. Gaara wanted me to be happy and let me go. I didn't find out until later but I got pregnant with both of you…about the same time," she said evasively.

"So you didn't love my dad?" Nabuto asked as his face fell.

"I did, and still do, love him very much. That's why we all stayed such good friends. And then the best thing happened to us when you two were born. We wouldn't change any of it for the world," Keiko said as she pulled them both into a hug.

"We're not little kids anymore " complained Obito as he struggled against her snuggles. They both seemed to forget all about looking different in that moment.

Yamato had grown an extra room for the boys within their quarters so they had their own space. Kakashi stood hidden just outside of it, watching his wife and his boys. The best thing that ever happened to him indeed, he thought smiling.


End file.
